Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore- Book Review

I went into Reincarnation Blues cold after receiving it as a recommendation from NetGalley. I thought the cover looked like The Hike and thought it was going to be in a similar vein. It is a strange little book at times and kind of a fun adventure.

The book follows Milo as he faces death for the 9,995th time. Each time he dies, he wakes up on the shore and is guided by Suzie aka Death as he recovers.

Milo has begun to enjoy his deaths, but perfection still alludes him. He states that he has chosen not to chase that dream since he is having too much fun. The problem is he only has 5 more chances to get it right before becoming nothing. If he can achieve it, he joins the oneness of the universe and has eternal bliss.

The reason Milo enjoys dying is because he has fallen in love with Suzie and each time he dies, he gets to spend time with her. Suzie also loves Milo, but knows this is a relationship that cannot be because Death cannot love a human being.

This now lays out the adventure as Milo has 5 more chances and Suzie becomes conflicted so much so that she considers giving up her position. The book continues looking it Milo's remaining lives as well as his time in the bardo.

This was a fun book with some predictable parts and some very slow parts. Overall, I loved the whole concept and storyline of the book. There were some of Milo's lives that just bogged the book down a bit. He has some very fast lives which are more enjoyable than his very lengthy extended lives. I was wondering why Poore made some of the decisions he did as his interactions with Suzie were much more enjoyable than his time on Earth.

As a reader, Milo becomes a great character as you get to know some of his lives and the choices he makes. There are some moments where Milo is conscious of his previous lives and makes choices to listen or not to listen to his past lives' voices. That was a lot of fun.

I did wonder if Buddhists will not enjoy one of his lives as he comes to know Buddha and does something that may anger some readers. Again a question of why he chose that path as it didn't really effect the character's arc.

As stated, I did enjoy the book as a whole, but did find myself skipping and coasting through some of Milo's lives as I enjoyed the Bardo' storyline much more. I just wish Poore had spent a bit more time there.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

*I want to thank NetGalley for the early release. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.*